FRAMEBUYER
HOW the LIGHT Gets In
Beauty and technology cross streams through laser-cutting manufacturing
BY AMY SPIEZIO
THE BIG REVEAL
Roberto Cavalli style Aldebaran 804S from Marcolin (l) and Marc Jacobs style MJ 505/S from Safilo
technology can be beautiful…and not only for the science geeks out there. In the past five years, manufacturing and design techniques have changed the face of fashion. Coming under that chic umbrella, eyewear has been influenced with the new options as well.
Though Google Glass is new and gaining momentum and the potential of 3-D printing is bubbling up to steal the buzzy spotlight in the media, a technology that has already been fully embraced by the optical industry is laser cutting and etching.
A laser, short for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, is a very intense, highly directional beam of light that can be used to cut through surfaces. The light gets the material’s molecules moving in a way that creates crisp, sharp edges on what is under the laser that then seal up cleanly right after it’s cut.
According to Ponok.com, a DIY laser-cutting and 3-D design service, “Laser cutting is a type of subtractive manufacturing that cuts a digital design file into a piece of sheet material. A computer directs a high-power laser at the material. The material then melts, burns, or vaporizes, leaving an edge with a high-quality finish.”
There are several different applications for lasers in eyewear:
DÉCOR, DESIGN. Using vector files, frame designers can create elaborate sweeps, swoops, and patterns that would be too complex to create by hand with any sort of precision or consistency.
RECREATING HAND CRAFTING. Though some of the old-time detail work that made antique eyewear so compelling has been lost with the transition from highly skilled workers’ production to more mass production, programming in styles to be laser cut allows designers to tap into old looks and recreate them.
CREATION. In the construction process, lasers allow frame fronts and temples with crisp edges and clean cuts to contribute to fresh contemporary looks, with cutouts providing more open spaces in frames and sunglasses.
In the following pages, Framebuyer shares examples of laser cut eyewear and sunwear coming to optical dispensaries this spring.
Credits
PHOTOGRAPHER
Trevor Dixon
STYLIST
Bessie Wink
HAIR AND MAKEUP
Kat Sterrett
MODEL
Sydney Brunk,
Reinhard Agency
ART DIRECTOR
Rachael Weissman
ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT
According to the blog FashioningTech, laser-cut fashion can create some exciting effects that take lab technology to the runway:
• LACE. Giving new life to the detailed weblike fabric, lasers’ precision seems tailor-made for recreating elaborate patterns.
• STRIPS. Instead of attaching small pieces to one another, the laser can create precise cuts from one piece of material to create the illusion of slices.
• MESH. A fresh, more contemporary take on the same concept as lace…with clean lines and architectural structure, showing that lasers aren’t simply for ultra-feminine details.
• DECONSTRUCTION. Taking a solid piece of material and creating cuts and slices to reinterpret the substance, for a totally different result.
• LAYERING. Much like the strips, the precision of lasers allows the creation of the appearance of layers and dimensions from within the same piece of material.
• ETCHING. Always a favorite form of décor in eyewear, laser etching creates a high-quality, low-cost finish.
SLEEK PEEK
Leisure Society by Shane Baum style Rodrigues
LIGHT SHOW
Brendel style 902147 by Tura (l) and Takumi style TK931 by Aspex
SCULPTED GARDEN
Ovvo style 2087
LASER POINTERS
If “The Graduate” was filmed in the 2010s, Benjamin might have been urged to get into lasers instead of plastics. Wondering what they can do? Here’s a laser reference list from multimedia information sources.
• VIDEO: Visit YouTube to see a laser at work, cutting a sheet to create Waybu eyeglasses: youtube.com/watch?v=uf0Q3-779TQ
• BLOG: TLC, The Laser Cutter, is a collection of the cool and cutting-edge products out there produced via laser printing. Thelasercutter.blogspot.com
• BOOK: Edited by Marnie Fogg, “Fashion: The Whole Story” explores the evolution of fashion design and construction from steel-hooped, 19th-century crinolines to today’s smart materials.
SWOOPS AND SLICES
Top to bottom: Marchon’s Nine West style NW1028, Charmant style CH12079, and Vera Wang style V328 by Kenmark
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